[1][3] With increased economic growth brought on by the Doi Moi reforms of the late 1980s, the railway system has entered a renewed phase of development.

[1][15][16] The first railway in Tonkin, a 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) gauge line connecting Lạng Sơn to Phu Lang Thuong (now known as Bắc Giang), was established in 1895.

Work began swiftly thereafter, with the Phu Lang Thuong—Lạng Sơn line being upgraded and extended from Hanoi to the Chinese border at Dong Dang.

The Japanese used the railway system extensively during their occupation, inviting sabotage by the Viet Minh as well as airborne Allied bombing raids.

[25][27] Early in the conflict, the Viet Minh's sabotage attempts failed to seriously damage the French railways, and most trains circulated without much protection.

[25] In 1954, following the signature of the Geneva Accords and the end of the First Indochina War, Vietnam—along with its railway system—was divided along the Bến Hải River in Quảng Trị Province.

In 1964, Typhoons Joan and Iris, the worst to strike Vietnam in sixty-five years, damaged the railway system even further, restricting operations to five separated segments.

[35] Railway engineering troops from the People's Republic of China, deployed in late June 1965, were tasked with repairing the damage caused by the bombing.

By late December of that year, reconstruction was complete on 363 kilometers of both the Hanoi–Lào Cai and Hanoi–Dong Dang lines, significantly increasing shipping capacity.

[35] After the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, the Communist government of the newly unified Vietnam took control of the former South Vietnamese railway.

Though the line is single track, speed does pick up outside urban areas, and the rails themselves are of quality to easily outpace any highway traffic, nevertheless this does not allow for schedule flexibility and frequency nor much safety as grade separation is almost nonexistent and level crossings the norm.

The proposed Ho Chi Minh City–Moc Bai and Mụ Giạ–Vung Ang lines (both of which had either existed or been considered before World War II) would establish Vietnam's first international railway links to Cambodia and Laos, respectively.

[4] The railway link from Haiphong to the Chinese city of Kunming was originally built by the French administration of Indochina in the early 20th century.

Since 2009, a daily overnight service is available; the train departs from Hanoi's Gia Lâm Railway Station, and runs on standard-gauge tracks all the way to Nanning.

The French administration of Indochina originally built a railway from Saigon to Lộc Ninh in the 1930s, with the intent of extending it further into Cambodia.

A new line connecting Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, was proposed as part of the Kunming–Singapore Railway project, overseen by the ASEAN–Mekong Basin Development Cooperation (AMBDC).

Funding for the line would come mainly from the Vietnamese government, with Japanese aid in the form of official development assistance (ODA).

[75] In July 2008, the then-Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng approved an overall transport development plan for Hanoi, which, among other projects, proposed a rapid transit system with five routes (1435mm gauge).

[77] The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has confirmed that the Nam Thang Long–Tran Hung Dao line would begin construction in mid-2011, to be completed in 2014 for full operation by 2016.

], rehabilitation projects sustained by official development assistance have allowed the most critical pieces of infrastructure along the line to be replaced, although much work still remains to be done[further explanation needed].

Throughout the entire Vietnamese rail network, Vietnam Railways report a total of 39 tunnels with a combined length of 11,512 m (37,769 ft).

[2][40] According to a joint Japanese-Vietnamese evaluation team, the recent installation of additional auto-signal systems at key crossings along the line has contributed to a decline in railway accidents.

[40] The overall condition of railway infrastructure in Vietnam varies from poor to fair; most of the network remains in need of rehabilitation and upgrading, having received only temporary repair from damages suffered during decades of war.

[3] The Vietnamese railway network is crossed by many roads in several crowded areas; as a result, accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians have occurred.

[1] In addition, the center of the country is subject to violent annual flooding and bridges are often swept away, causing lengthy closures.

These measures include: public awareness campaigns on railway safety in the media; construction of fences and safety barriers at critical level crossings in major cities; mobilization of volunteers for traffic control at train stations and level crossings, especially during holiday seasons; the installation of additional auto-signal systems; and the construction of flyovers and underpasses to redirect traffic.

Initially, low rail tariffs and the poor state of infrastructure used in other modes of transport led to high usage, but revenue proved to be insufficient to cover the railway's operating costs.

In 1986, the Government's implementation of Doi Moi economic reforms led to the deregulation of the transport sector and the shift towards a market-led economy, forcing the railways to change in order to maintain a competitive edge.

The government of Germany began providing assistance with the restructuring of the railway sector in 2000, allowing VNR to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations, thus increasing its competitiveness.

[1] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.